DUBAI: Flight reservations to Qatar for the soccer World Cup in November and December are robust, with especially high demand from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as supporters work around a lack of housing in Doha, according to a report released on Tuesday.
Flight reservations to Qatar from the UAE and nine other nations have increased tenfold since the epidemic began, according to travel intelligence firm Forward Keys.
They have increased 103 times from the UAE compared to 2016, the previous year when the UAE joined other Arab nations in a boycott of Qatar, which suspended direct flights. The boycott will come to an end in early 2021.
Forward booking for vacations between November 14 and December 24 compared to 2019, including day excursions and stays of two nights or more. — According to Reuters
Forward booking for vacations between November 14 and December 24 compared to 2019, including day excursions and stays of two nights or more. — According to Reuters
ForwardKeys explained that “the UAE’s high performance is explained by a lack of accommodation in Qatar,” adding that many spectators were anticipated to remain in Dubai.
Despite the necessity to submit a negative COVID-19 test in order to enter Qatar, there is high demand.
According to ForwardKeys, air travel across the Gulf is poised to benefit, with airline reservations to the area 16% ahead of 2019, and during the early rounds of the World Cup 61% ahead of 2019.
Fans will also travel to other places in the area, with the number of tourists spending at least two nights in Qatar followed by at least two nights in another Gulf country increasing sixteenfold since the epidemic began.
Tourists from the United States account for 26% of such visits, with Canadians coming in second at 10% and Britons coming in third at 9%.
“Dubai is by far the greatest benefactor of this trend, accounting for 65% of onward trips,” ForwardKeys stated.
Flight reservations to Qatar for the World Cup are up, particularly from Dubai.
At the end of the first quarter, Qatar Tourism recorded 31,123 hotel rooms in the nation.
FIFA, the international soccer governing body, has reserved 80% of the available accommodation for players, visitors, and officials during the event, according to Qatar’s World Cup organisers. Over the following two weeks, FIFA is likely to release rooms that it will no longer need onto the market.
According to travel data provider OAG, Dubai has 115,000 hotel rooms and 25,000 rental units.
Qatar Airways and flydubai will operate 54 flights each day between Dubai and Qatar, increasing from only six before, according to OAG.
